MOUNT VERNON, Wash. - Rescuers who have saved hundreds of dogs from stinking, filth-choked puppy mills over the past few days have made an eye-popping discovery - most of the animals are pregnant and due to give birth to roughly 1,500 puppies.

Some 600 abused and neglected dogs have been rescued from three different kennels since last weekend, and animal shelters were are already struggling to care for the crush of animals they already have.

Now they know there are many more on the way.

Animal rescue officers say a typical litter for a stressed dog is about three pups, and roughly 500 of the dogs are pregnant.

"We're going to be having puppies born here probably every day as long as they're here," says Animal Services Director Bud Wessman.

It heaps a whole other crisis on top of the one shelters are already struggling with. After the puppies are born, rescuers will be trying to cope with more than 2,000 dogs.

"You can see it on TV and go 'ooh' and 'aah,' but when you walk into something like this ... that's where the reality is," says Teresa Letellier, who took part in the dog rescues.

Deputies and animal control officers conducted several raids on what they call puppy mills in Skagit and Snohomish counties.

They found dogs packed inside tiny crates, living in their own feces, without enough food and water - many with health problems. Conditions were so disgusting they shocked even veteran animal control officers.

And all the dogs will need new homes.

Families and volunteers are rushing in to help - Lorraine Monroe and her daughters want to provide foster care for some of the dogs.

"We need people to step up and help - families and everybody taking a dog or two," Monroe says. "We can really alleviate the problem."

And that problem will only get bigger over the next few months.

Five pugs found together at one puppy mill illustrate the problem, Wessman says.

"All five are in different stages of pregnancy, so they'll be giving birth one a week for the next several weeks," he says.

Most of the dogs currently are being housed at the Skagit County Fairgrounds and the Everett Animal Shelter.

With the cost of veterinary car, medication, grooming and dog food, rescuers estimate it will cost $20 per day to take care of each animal.

"It will break us unless we get help from the public," said Joan Crane, co-founder of S.P.O.T.

Anyone who wants to make an online donation to help pay for the dogs' care may donate to the KOMO Problem Solvers Fund.

No arrests have been made yet, but it is anticipated that animal cruelty charges will be forthcoming, said Will Reichardt, chief criminal deputy with the Skagit County Sheriff's Office.

Animal control officers are asking that anyone who has purchased a dog from the Mountain View kennel belonging to Sundbergs to call the Skagit County Sheriff's office as this information may be important to their investigation.

The contact is Animal Control officer JoHannah Deterding, who can be reached at (360) 336-9450 or at johannad@co.skagit.wa.us.

~Jeanine

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

airwalk wrote:spay/abort after this announcement will be almost impossible. The public outcry would be horrendous. If the were going to spay/abort it should have been done before any announcement was made.

I agree with this 100%.

~Jeanine

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

airwalk wrote:spay/abort after this announcement will be almost impossible. The public outcry would be horrendous. If the were going to spay/abort it should have been done before any announcement was made.

That's true. I didn't mean to be insensitive, but spay/abort seems like a good idea in this case. Just what the shelters need - 1,500 puppies.

It is a good idea, and it should be the course of action...but unfortunately the average joe out there would be appalled at the idea and therefore, now that they've announced all these puppies are due, they are pretty much stuck!

When we took the 99 dogs, we never said anything to anyone...most of them were pregnant. Only two litters were born and both within 36 hours of their arrival.

Often these folks are hoarders. It really has nothing to do with the dogs themselves, it's a mental illness and an obsession.

There are some of these though, that are BYB's they are breeding for dollars. If we could ever get folks to figure out "designer breeds" are really mutts and if they are going to buy a pup to make sure they are doing it from a reputable breeder with a history of breeding quality dogs...some of these guys would go away.